Lawn-cleaner



(No Model.)

W. H. MACK.

LAWN CLEANER.

Patented Feb. 23, 1886.

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N. PETERS. PhMo-lithognwvr, Washinflom D-Q UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

WILLIAM H. MACK, or MILWAUKEE, WISGOXSIX.

LAWN-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,728, dated February 23, 1886.

Appicaiion filed October 10, 1884. Serial 'o. 145,139. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Maori, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lawn-Oleancrs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompzt nying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is a simple and effectual device for cleaning lawns and collecting the litter thereon into a convenient receptacle, from which it may be easily disposed of.

It consists, essentially, of a-stifi rotary brush or rake inclosed in a box or casing, which forms a receptacle for the litter taken up by the rake, and of mechanism for rotating the rake and adjusting the height of the same relative to the ground.

In the accompanying drawings like letters refer to the same parts in the several figures.

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of my machine. same, a part of the front driving-wheel being broken away to disclose the internal gearing. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the righthand driving-wheel and a part of its internal gearing on the line as as drawn across the left-hand wheel in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a detached view, on an enlarged scale, of the rear or inner face of one of the brush-gears, showing the method of attachment to the brush-shaft.

A is the brush, preferably composed of the wooden cylinder 0, in which are secured rows of brass-wire teeth (1 cl about one inch apart, the teeth of each row being set midway between those of the adjacent rows. Said brush is provided with the trnnnions or shaft a, which has hearings in the hubs Z, formed on the inner faces of the carrying-plates L, as shown in Fig. 3. Shaft a is provided at its outwardlyprojecting ends with the gears or pinions G, the eyes of which are notched, as shown in Fig. 4., to engage with the spring-actuated clicks f, set into sockets formed in said shaft to. By this means the brush A is rotated only when the machine is advanced, and the gears Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the G are turned in the direction indicated by arrows in Figs. 2 and 4. hen said gears are turned in the reverse direction in running the machine backward or in turning the same, they slip over the clicksf without moving the brush-shaft a.

B are dish-shaped driving-wheels, having inwardly-cogtoothed rims and inwardly-projecting central sleeves, l). which turn upon hubs 0, raised upon the outer faces of the carrying-plates L, and are retained thereon by bolts n, passing through the casing C and hubs 0, and provided at their outwardly-protruding ends with nuts. The plates L are also provided with outwardlyprojecting studs 0', upon which are mounted the loose pinions I, so as to mesh both with the cogtoothed rims of said drivingwvheels 3 and with the gears G. The said carrying-plates L are circular, and, with the overlapping drivingwheels B, form closed gear-cases. The eccentric hubsl on the inner faces of the plates L are inserted into openings in the sides of the casing (l, which forms bearings therefor, and said casing is provided with the curved slots k, to receive the bolts a, and to permit of the turning of the plates L and drivingwheels B about the said brushshaft a as a center, whereby the centers of said drivingwhcels are raised or lowered, and the brush A, together with casing G, corespondingly lowered or raisedfrom the ground.

N is a square transverse rod or shaft having hearings in the sides of easing 0, near the bottom thereof.

tare arms rigidly attached at their lower ends to said rod N, and connected at their upper ends by the thin plates h with the heads of bolts 11., protruding through slots 7; into said casing G, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8. Alever, D, is rigidly fixed at its lower end to said shaft or rod N at one side of the machine, and

is provided at its upper end with a handle and detent, which engages with perforations in the curved plate E, attached to the inner side of easing C. By turning said lever D to the left, as shown in Fig. 1, the centers of the carrying-plates L are carried to the left in slots 70. The drivingwheels are consequently lowered and the brush and casing raised. By turning said lever to the right the drivingwheels are raised and the brush and casing lowered. The position of said brush A relative to the casing O is always the same. The forward end of said casing is curved to conform to the contour of brush A, which rotates close thereto in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1. It is divided by the transverse partition 0, which rises close to the rear of said brush A, into two compartments, the rear one of which is provided with a bottom and forms a box which receives the litter picked up by the brush A and carried up and thrown over the top of said partition 0. This box or receptacle is provided with a removable or hinged lid, by means of which thelitter collected therein may be removed as often as required.

The machine is sustained at the rear by the small roller F, having bearings inbrackets I), attached to said casing C. It is propelled by means of a handle, H, supported by arms J, which are attached to the rear of the casing.

My machine operates as follows: The brush having been set by means of lever D at the proper height from the ground, (low for smooth closely-clipped lawns, and higher for rough ones with longer grass,)the machine is passed over its surface. The driving-wheels B B, acting through the loose pinions I and gears G on the ends of the brush-shaft a, cause the brush to rotate rapidly in the direction indicated in Fig. 1 by the arrow. The teeth (Z d of said brush, passing over the surface, catch up any loose littersuch as leaves, straws, bits of paper, and the clippings of a lawnmower-carry them up inside of the curved portion of easing O, by which they are pre- Vented from being thrown off in front of the machine by the centrifugal force of said brush, and deposit them in the receptacle at the rear of the partition 0, from which they may be removed as often as necessary by opening the cover 0.

I do not wish to confine myself to the exact arrangement and construction of the brushadjusting mechanism and actuating gearing 45 herein shown and described, since they may be variously modified without departure from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a lawn-cleaner, of the rotary brush A', geared with a drivingwheel, B, casing O, inclosing said brush and forming a receptacle for catching the litter therefrom, wheels B B, and their bearings 0 0, adjustable in arcs of circles concentric with said brush, so as to raise or lower said brush, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, in a 1awn-cleaner, of 60 the rotary brush A, geared with a drivingwheel, B, casing C, inclosing said brush and forming a receptacle for catching the litter therefrom, wheels B B, their bearings 0 0, adjustable in arcs of circles concentric with said brush, and lever D, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, in a lawn cleaner, of the stiff rotary brush A, casing C, forming a re ceptacle for catching the litter from said brush, carrying-plates L, having eccentric hubs Z, which form bearings for the brush-shaft a, internallycog-toothed driving-wheels B, forming, with carrying-plates L, cases for pinions I and gears G, and pinions I and gears G, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLl' AM H. M AGK.

lVitnesses:

OHAs. L. Goss, GEORGE GoLL. 

